


make you better

by weatheredlaw



Series: wait, don't tell me [3]
Category: Bob's Burgers (Cartoon)
Genre: Classism, F/M, Friendship, High School, Internalized Sexism, Near Future, Sexism, Slut Shaming, Women Supporting Women, family support
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-03-01 02:20:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2755940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weatheredlaw/pseuds/weatheredlaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a teenager is fucking <i>hard</i> sometimes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	make you better

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't a very long story, but it's taken some time for me to write, simply because when I started exploring Tina/Zeke as a ship, experienced I've had as well as a deep concern for teenage girls sort of spilled out and it went in a direction I hadn't intended to explore, but ended up doing that anyway. I've tagged for it, but you should know this story contains a lot of internalized sexism and slut shaming among teenagers, but is rounded out in the end with support from friends and family. If you're not comfortable with the words used in slut shaming, then this probably isn't the story for you. Either way, if you do keep going, I hope you enjoy it. <3

Almost every day, Tina and Jimmy Jr. walk home from school together, standing in that awkward place between being friends and being more than that, understanding now that kissing is something different than what they did only a few years ago. They dance along the edge of something they might call dating, but never get close. He's holding back, but Tina isn't complaining -- well, not too much. 

She's only brought it up once, and Jimmy didn't need to explain himself to her. He promises he doesn't believe the things people say, but Tina's not always convinced. If she were him, she wouldn't date herself either. 

 

 

 

In three years, Tina has become almost as tall as her father, taller than most of the boys she goes to school with. She's an inch taller than Jimmy Jr., but it's honestly probably two. The only boy taller than her now is Zeke, who grew and grew and grew into this thick, massive boy, muscled and loud and still trying to distract people from the fact that it's hard to be home and it's hard to miss his mom and things he has told Tina in private and says he has never told anyone else.

Tina is endeared with him, even though she never meant to be, and sometimes when she and Jimmy Jr. walk home, Zeke walks with them, and it's nice. 

"Bet I can find five dollars in that garbage can," he says one day. Tina's nose wrinkles and Zeke laughs.

"Bet I can find ten!" Jimmy says and the two of them are shouldering the can onto its side, rooting through garbage. Tina sits down on the sidewalk and watches, unearthing the disposable camera she found at the Goodwill the week before and snapping a few pictures. 

"If you got any good ones I want one," Zeke says later, handing over the three dollar bills he found.

"I don't want these."

He shrugs. "Nah, keep 'em. J-Jew! Let's go to the pier and see if any of them jellyfish washed up again."

Jimmy scuffs the sidewalk with his Keds and shakes his head. "I can't, I have a precalc test tomorrow."

" _Nerd._ "

Tina says, "I can go with you," and turns to go into the restaurant and put down her backpack in one of the booths. "Dad, I'm gonna go look at jellyfish real quick."

"Yeah, that's nice, Tina." He's moving quickly behind the counter, setting a plate in front of Teddy before he stops. "Wait, with who?" Tina points to Zeke standing outside and her dad narrows his eyes. "Really?"

"Just for an hour."

Her mother comes out, wiping her hands on a towel. "What? What's goin' on, where are you going?"

"To look at jellyfish," Bob says. "With the butt-ler."

Linda peers out the window and looks at Tina. "Really?" Tina shrugs. "Alright. You be careful. One hour, missy."

 

 

 

There aren't any jellyfish, but the tide is pretty low and a few crabs are scuttling along the shoreline, leaving a tiny trail for them to follow. Zeke gives her his jacket when she shivers and Tina is pleasantly surprised by how nice this is. He clears his throat.

"Are, uh. Are you and Jimmy...you know--"

"No." Tina has never been one for complicated explanations. She and Jimmy aren't dating. She doesn't feel the need to explain to Zeke what's really happening because Jimmy isn't her boyfriend and she doesn't owe him anything. "Are you and Tammy still seeing each other?"

"Nah, we called it quits a while back. She's just mean." Tina nods, because Zeke is mostly right, though Tina thinks Tammy is mean because of reasons she won't tell and Tina still can't find it in her to dislike her. They did a Spanish project last year together and got along fine. "Jimmy's an idiot."

"I won't argue with that," Tina says carefully, because this feels like something she should speak carefully about.

"You're really cool. And smart." No one has ever called Tina cool except her mother, and her cheeks flush bright red. "Not a lot of people like you ever wanna hang out with me."

"We've been friends for four years, Zeke."

"No, right. I just--" He stops walking and shoves his hands in his pockets, angling himself to look at her. "I like you. But Jimmy's my best friend, and I feel weird feeling that way."

"I like you, too. And it doesn't feel weird."

"Oh. Well. Okay." Zeke seems a little happier and walks her home. He takes his jacket back and stands awkwardly in front of the restaurant. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Tina nods. "I know." 

"Right. Okay." Tina waves and that seems to turn things around. He waves back and pulls on his jacket, jogging down the sidewalk as it starts to sprinkle. Tina pushes open the door and heads back into the kitchen to wash her hands and help out her dad.

"So." Bob leans against the fridge, head of lettuce in hand, watching her tie on her apron. "How were the jellyfish?"

"Not there. We looked at crabs instead."

"That's nice." Tina lays out some patties on the grill. Her dad starts cutting lettuce. "Was it, like, a date?"

" _Bob._ " Linda picks up a plate of fries off the ledge and shakes her head. "I told you not to do that."

"It's okay, mom. It wasn't a date." She pauses. "But I guess it wasn't _not_ a date either."

Bob stops cutting. "Nevermind, I don't wanna know."

"Yeah," Tina agrees. "You'd probably just get confused anyway."

 

 

 

In the morning, Jimmy Jr.'s already left for school, so Tina starts walking on her own. Half-way there, Zeke catches up to her, one foot catching the corner of a puddle and sending water onto her jeans. "Aw, hell. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, it'll dry." She reaches into the sidepocket of her bag and pulls out the camera. "Want to come with me after school and get these developed?" 

"Sure." He walks with her until they get to her locker, looking nervous. Tina doesn't push him into talking, just trades out her books and looks for a pen to keep with her. When she shuts it, he clears his throat. "We should do something."

"Okay.

"Like. Go out. Somewhere. You and me."

Tina nods. "Like when we get the pictures developed?"

"Well, I mean, I was thinking something besides that, but yeah. That sounds fun, too. I could take you someplace. For, you know. Food."

Tina nods. "As long as it isn't burgers."

Zeke narrows his eyes for a moment, then laughs. " _Ha!_ I get it. It's funny."

Tina smiles.

 

 

 

She lets him kiss her on their third date, sitting at the drive-in in the passenger seat of his car, watching a Tom Cruise movie. He leans over and he asks her, quietly, if it's alright, and Tina says it is. She's spent a lot of time since her first kiss cultivating more. She's had more kisses than dates, but a part of her likes it that way. Dating feels special, and sacred. Kissing feels like something she can do with anyone. 

Tina kissed Henry Haber when they were freshman because he asked her to homecoming and she said yes and it seemed like a good idea at the time. He wasn't particularly good at it, but Tina wasn't that caught up in quality kisses back then. Except Henry Haber told all his friends the'd done more than kiss and his friends told all their other friends and by Monday morning everyone who knew Tina knew she kissed Henry Haber and would probably do anything with anyone if you asked her.

Ever since then, it's sometimes be hard to go to dances. Or walk down the hall. Or be with other boys. The only boys who care enough to be around her are Zeke and Jimmy Jr. And sometimes it feels like Jimmy doesn't want to be there and sometimes Tina isn't sure she _wants_ him to be there. 

Being a teenager is fucking _hard_ sometimes.

 

 

 

"You can't date my ex. That's, like, a _rule._ " Tammy is trying to make herself bigger than Tina outside of math class, face red and upset, but it's hard because Tina's more than a head taller than her now. She doesn't really understand why Tammy's all that upset, she and Zeke dated for a lifetime total of three weeks, but whatever. 

"There are no rules, Tammy. Don't make things up." Tina tries to turn and go into class, but Tammy grabs her shoulder.

"There _are_ rules, Tina."

Tina sighs. "Please stop talking. I want to go to class." She pulls away, because it isn't that hard, and goes in, sitting at her customary seat on the left side. Some boy she doesn't know well taps her on the shoulder and says, "Can he even afford you, Belcher?" Tina doesn't look or answer, pulling out her notebook and pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. 

At lunch, a couple girls from Tina's study hall burst into laughter when she walks by. It takes hours for someone to say the word, like they're all keeping it in, quietly, waiting for the right moment. Eric from biology says it during their lab, as Tina goes to fill one of her beakers with baking soda -- " _Slut._ " She stands perfectly still. The word doesn't do much to her. She's been called it before. Tammy told her the year before when they did the Spanish project that once some people learned the word, it's like all they did was use it. 

She finds Tammy after school, tapping on her open locker. "Oh my _God_ , Tina."

"Hi."

"What do you want?"

"Eric Catwaller called me a slut in bio today." 

Tammy frowns. "Oh."

"I know you're mad I'm going out with Zeke. But I'm not sorry about it."

Tammy rolls her eyes. "Like I should have expected you to be. You're not sorry about anything you do."

"I don't think I should have to be," Tina says mildly. "I also don't think you told anyone."

"I didn't," Tammy admits. "I was just mad. Someone said they saw you guys making out at the drive-in."

"We did."

Tammy shrugs. "People are assholes. Jocelyn calls me a skank at least twice a week, but Becky calls her worse stuff all the time and they're, like, best friends. I don't know. Everyone is mean to each other." Tammy glances up quickly. "Except you, I guess. You're not mean."

"There's no point," Tina says. "You should come to the restaurant, my dad has a milkshake machine now."

"Ugh, that sounds _amazing._ "

 

 

 

"Zeke's my best friend."

Tina's sweeping the leaves from the front of the restaurant, headphones in. She doesn't hear Jimmy Jr. walk up, but she hears him speak. "Uh. Hi."

"Zeke's my best friend," he repeats. He doesn't _look_ mad, but Tina is bad at reading his expressions. Always has been. 

"I know," she says. "Are you mad?" He shrugs, which could mean anything. Tina leans the broom against the window. "Maybe we should take a walk." They go down to the wharf and she buys him a coffee from the little walk-up vendor by the arcade. "I like Zeke a lot. Maybe I should have said more to you, but I didn't. You couldn't seem to make your mind up about me, so I made up my own."

"I don't listen to what people say about you," he says quickly. 

Tina shakes her head. "It's not really about that. I don't care what people say, because they say the same things about a lot of people."

"Not a lot of people really...really _get_ Zeke."

"He's sweet," Tina says. "He's rough around the edges, but he has his reasons. I told you, I like him a lot. I'm not really concerned about what anyone thinks."

"Including me." She nods. "I mean...I get that. He told me the other day. I'd heard you guys had gone out I just...wish you had told me first."

She wants to say _I don't owe you that_ , but now's not the time to get indignant about a stupid boy. "You were avoiding me."

"You're hard to be around sometimes." It sounds like an admission, but Tina already knew that. She can be difficult without realizing it. Zeke's just one of the only people who doesn't seem to mind. "Look, I'm not...I'm not mad. You're not my girlfriend, I'm not allowed to think you and me are supposed to be together or something."

"Can we start walking to school together again? I miss that."

Jimmy nods. "I miss it, too."

"Good." Tina watches him wipe the foam mustache off his upper lip and starts heading back to the restaurant.

 

 

 

Spring break is always the same. Most people go on vacation, but the town get swamped with out-of-town beach goers and the restaurant gets busier than ever. It's all hands on deck that week, and Tina doesn't have much time to go anywhere with anyone. Jimmy texts her that he was up til three AM making meatballs, and they're open til after midnight, serving college kids who are so drunk they can't tell what time it is.

Tina's gotten better at talking to customers -- not the best, but better. She shuffles from table to table, taking orders and setting plates down. Louise comes after her and cleans stuff out, babbling about how she and the twins are going to sneak down to the pier later and catch crabs to hide in the umbrellas they rent out. A group of girls from school comes in around lunch time, sitting down as Tina hands out their menus. "I'll give you a minute to look."

"Sure, thanks." She turns and is kind of surprised when she hears it. "Skank." The girls burst into laughter, but Tina keeps going.

"Uh, excuse me. _What_ did they say?" Louise is probably going to be taller than any of them, she's already close to being able to look Tina right in the eyes. 

"It's not a big deal."

" _Tina._ It's a _really_ big deal." 

Tina shakes her head, going behind the counter to hand in an order from another table. " _Louise._ Shut up."

Linda leans over, narrowing her eyes. "Girls, no fighting."

"No, it's a big deal, Tina. You can't just let them--"

"I'm not _letting_ them, it's just what they _do_ \--"

" _Girls._ " Linda comes around, folding her arms over her chest. "What the hell is going on?"

"Mom, those girls over there called Tina a _skank_ and she's just like, _totally_ okay with it."

"I didn't say I was okay with it, I said I couldn't do anything--"

"They did _what?_ " Bob leans around the window. "Who is calling Tina names? What's happening, why is no one working?"

"Bob." Linda sets her hands on her hips. "We are having a crisis situation."

"Can we, uh, can we have one later? Maybe? After we're closed?"

"No. We cannot." 

Tina grits her teeth. "It's _fine._ We'll talk about it _later._ " She turns her back on them, going to the girls at the table again and smiling, taking their order. They're looking her up and down, in all her lanky, awkward glory, probably wondering how any of the rumors are true, why anyone would want to go anywhere near her. Tina doesn't agree, she's been told she's pretty by several people, and she happens to like her general height. But she feels like meat, here, being sized up by girls who are sized up by other girls who read the same things Tina reads -- the things that tell her she isn't good enough, isn't pretty enough, isn't _enough_ for anyone and never will be. 

Tina can't be mad, because it isn't really their fault. 

"Look, I just don't want to talk about this. It's not a big deal." She's trying to get the dishes done so she can do her homework and watch a movie and pretend this entire thing isn't happening. 

"Have you had sex?" Bob blurts out and Linda smacks his arm.

"No, dad."

"Oh thank God. I mean, I guess. If you want to. You...you can. I'm just...you gotta break that to me slowly, Tina."

"I'll remember that." 

Her mom puts an arm around her. "Sweetie. Are you sure you're alright? Those words are hurtful."

"It's fine. I have a test tomorrow, I need to study." She brushes away from them and goes to her room, shutting the door behind her. From her bedroom, she can hear everything -- she can hear Louise complaining that Gene smells. She can hear Gene complaining that Louise doesn't appreciate elegant body odor. She can hear her parents odd mixture of concern and not wanting to push too hard, coupled with Bob's inability to deal with girls and everything they do. It should be unsettling, but it's a comfort, in it's own way. 

It's a comfort knowing that Louise will never act that way, that Gene will never say those things. It's a comfort to know her father isn't going to demonize her body, or that her mother will raise hell at a moment's notice.

So even if it _sucks_ that she has to go to school tomorrow and watch everyone be mean and angry and upset -- it's a comfort knowing she has Zeke and Tammy and Jimmy. Because it's just a little bit, she knows that -- but it's more than enough for her.

**Author's Note:**

> Additionally, this is going in my ongoing _Bob's Burgers_ series because I keep kind of thinking with the same canon-divergent universe in mind, although it still fits within the context of the show.


End file.
